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Substantial Similarity and Copyright Law

In copyright law, when a person claims someone else stole (or “infringed”) their work, they have to prove substantial similarity between the two works. In Los Angeles, a trial is underwayabout the Led Zeppelin song, “Stairway to Heaven.” (The band’s Jimmy Page talks about writing the iconic song here.) Since its 1971 release, the band has made well over $562 million in song royalties. But some other musicians claim the song is too similar to an earlier song, “Taurus” (1968), infringing the Spirit band’s prior art. As the parties battle the case out in court, both sides are calling expert witnesses to evaluate how similar the songs are (or aren’t), and whether copyright infringement occurred. What do you think – are the songs too similar, does Stairway infringe on Taurus? Whatever the court’s decision, this case may reverberate through the music and copyright law worlds for some time.

P.S. – The Dark Horse copyright infringement case that we discussed some time ago was dismissed from St Louis court, but no news on whether it was refiled in California, which the St Louis judge suggested was the proper venue.

My law firm, Johnson Law KC LLC, is experienced counseling individual, corporate, and nonprofit clients on entertainment law, copyright, trademark, and IP litigation issues. We work with authors, musicians, artists, photographers, bloggers, songwriters, filmmakers, and others to provide cutting edge, reliable expertise on IP. We can help you answer these questions with confidence and friendly expertise. If we can serve you with your entertainment law, copyright, or IP questions, please call (913-707-9220) or email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) to schedule a free, convenient consultation.